Hudson s Tower Design Evolves Again as It Gets Taller

Image: Manifold Existent Manor / Gensler Austin

In the beatific before-times of October 2019, as we unwittingly approached the determination of what we're now calling the pre-pandemic era, we learned all about an office tower in the works downtown that would occupy the southern one-half of Block 16 in Austin's original metropolis plan — in other words, the bottom half of the block bound past San Jacinto Boulevard, Trinity Street, andEast 2nd Street.Forth with Fleming's and Cafe Blue, that tract includes downtown'due south only P.F. Chang'south at 201 San Jacinto Boulevard, but nosotros'd much rather call it Block xvi than the P.F. Chang's Tower.

Imagined by local developers Manifold Real Estatewith blueprint from usual downtown tower suspects Gensler Austin, the project's initial city filings illustrated a fairly simple cuboid construction roughly 40 floors tall — but Gensler design director and friend of the site George Blume urged us to mention to our readers that these plans were extremely preliminary and liable to evolve. We're glad we hedged our bets, because this building's gone through some large changes in the last 10 months — and thanks to the projection'south pending density bonus application with the City of Austin'south Design Commission, we now have a better thought of exactly what'due south cooking at Cake 16.

Prototype: Manifold Real Manor / Gensler Austin

The building now described in these most recent documents and shown in the rendering to a higher place is a 47-floor, 723-foot tower with a distinctly unlike shape than the structure seen in before illustrations — the new model'southward eastern setback and western cantilever give the whole thing a pleasingly asymmetrical appearance that's certainly more interesting to look at than its previous incarnation, not to mention at that place's a nice new rooftop patio assiduities space on the eastern side where the mass is pulled back.

A closer view of the Block 16 tower's eastern face, showing the shingle-like details of its facade and a rooftop amenity deck with what will inevitably exist very good views. Epitome: Manifold Real Estate / Gensler Austin

This updated design withal contains approximately the same amount of role space equally before, clocking in at almost 733,000 square feet, plus 1,556 square feet of dining-oriented retail infinite split between reverse sides of its ground-floor public plaza. It's also got a whopping 17 floors of above-basis parking, plus 3 bonus underground garage levels for good measure. Here's a crude comparison between architectural illustrations of the onetime and new tower designs from all iv sides:

Click for a larger view. Images: Manifold Real Estate / Gensler Austin

Forth with the obvious change of shape, by far the most interesting aspect of this belfry's design seen in these renderings is the angled, shingle-like overlapping glass curtain wall panels on each level — this aforementioned fashion of so-chosen "shingle wall" provided some texture to the facade of Manhattan's x Hudson Yards tower in 2016. (Nosotros as well recollect they kinda brand the belfry look similar a suit of traditional Japanese armour.)

The western (left) and eastern (correct) sides of Cake 16, showing details of its exterior. Image: Manifold Real Estate / Gensler Austin

You tin become a better idea of how these walls look up close in the two street-level views provided in these documents, showing the tower's two near active corners:

A view of the southwest corner of the Block sixteen tower's ground floor, with a cafe space and outdoor dining visible among other streetscape improvements required to meet density bonus guidelines. Prototype: Manifold Real Estate / Gensler Austin

A view of the southeast corner of the Cake 16 tower's ground floor, with what's described as a "borough plaza" featuring public art and a second adjacent retail space — public art is also a component of the urban design guidelines this projection needs to substantially comply with to receive its density bonus. Image: Manifold Existent Estate / Gensler Austin

While the building is comprised mostly of office infinite, the project proposes a civically minded ground level experience with two corner plazas that volition be populated with vegetation and grand pieces of public art. The antechamber will serve every bit an air conditioned extension to the plazas and volition feature a rotating gallery hall to showcase local artists. The antechamber will exist fully accessible and open up to the public during operating hours.

— Block 16 Project Summary

Here's a floor program for the tower's ground level, showing the retail spaces on opposite sides of the lobby along with that civic plaza and other streetscape improvements — not to mention lots of new trees and a few erstwhile ones preserved besides:

Click for a larger view. Image: Manifold Real Manor / Gensler Austin

Though the comparison is not verbal, we remember this tower'due south off-center appearance has more than a casual resemblance to the unbuilt tower proposed for 5th Street and Congress Avenue back effectually 2006 by developer Tom Stacy, which featured design from well-known architecture business firm Pelli Clarke Pelli and also clocked in at 47 floors. Block 16 lacks the big diagonal face that defined the aggressive look of the Pelli tower, only you lot can still run into what we're talking about to a bespeak:

Left: The Pelli Clarke Pelli tower design revealed in 2006 merely never built for Fifth Street and Congress Avenue. Center: A view of the Cake 16 tower plan, looking towards the northwest from this perspective. Right: Some other view of the Block 16 design, looking east from this perspective. Images: Pelli Clarke Pelli / Manifold Real Estate / Gensler Austin

We'll find out more about the project and whether its design passes muster with the Design Commission when the detail comes up for word at its meeting this coming Monday, August 24 — but for the time existence, let's accost the other elephant in the room. As you know if you kept upwardly with coverage of this tower back when it was first announced, the Cake sixteen site falls within the surface area where the Austin Convention Heart might hope to expand, with previous plans indicating growth west of Trinity Street.

Older renderings for an expansion of the Austin Convention Middle — dorsum when this came out, we hadn't even built the Marriott facing Cesar Chavez Street, so that tower you lot run into up at that place isn't entirely accurate. Image: Gensler Austin

There are a lot of possible configurations for how this expansion could accept place, but a tower at this site would probable cause some trouble for the heart's growth — and fifty-fifty with the current pandemic actually limiting enthusiasm for large public gatherings, our intrepid convention officials and their wonk ground forces at the mouthful of a firm HVS Convention, Sports and Entertainment Facilities Consulting announced in a memo earlier this week that COVID-xix wouldn't interfere with expansion plans.

If yous take the time to slice through the full memo document, which is a spectacular 148 pages long, you'll eventually come across an updated study from Gensler Austin regarding the diverse challenges facing an expanding Austin Convention Centre complex in this district, and spread across two paragraphs you'll find the nigh important function of the whole document — we've bolded information technology for accent:

Land parcels identified in the before expansion plans have since been acquired and plans for their development are ongoing. White Lodging acquired the property fronting Cesar Chavez, between San Jacinto and Trinity Streets. A new Marriott Hotel is nearing completion on that site. The northern half of that aforementioned block has recently been purchased and tentative plans for another hotel are existence considered. Block sixteen'south buying has been exploring the potential for assembling the remainder of parcels betwixt 2nd and 4th Streets to partner with the City to co-develop a vertically integrated tower/convention center expansion.

As this master plan update nears completion, a partnership has been struck with all land owners between Second Street, Trinity Street, Fourth Street and San Jacinto. This is an important step in moving forward with the Due west expansion.

— Gensler, Austin Convention Eye Master Program Update

Though it'due south delivered very casually here, this is pretty exciting news. If the owners of these parcels directly adjacent to the Convention Eye are willing to cooperate with the city, Gensler, as the designers behind both the Cake 16 tower and the primary plan for the center's expansion in the first place, could dream up a multi-cake mixed-apply complex integrating the necessary extra convention infinite — while "vertically integrating," equally they say higher up, by maybe building one or more towers on top.

A diagram of a possible convention middle expansion scenario from Gensler Austin'south principal program written report shows multiple towers eventually occupying the commune, including a massing for Block 16. Image: Gensler Austin

This solves the issue of a downtown convention center existence a fairly low-density utilize of its country compared with taller buildings, 1 of our biggest frustrations nearly the center gobbling upwardly more than space — and you'll notice the northern purlieus of Fourth Street mentioned in the second paragraph we bolded in the quote above includes the eastern half of the Railyard Condos site. Though it'due south hard to share the full enthusiasm of the convention expansion pushers who swear the pandemic won't have whatsoever effect on demand, the possibility of a denser approach has us at to the lowest degree one click of the dial more excited most what'southward going on in this corner of downtown.

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Source: https://austin.towers.net/meet-block-16-a-downtown-austin-tower-plan-surprising-enough-for-2020/

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